FCC Votes Unanimously To Review System That Lets Phone Companies Check If A Number Is Legit

Just this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted unanimously to go over a system that would basically let phone companies determine if a particular number calling a customer is legitimate or not. The main objective of this system, of course, is to crack down on unscrupulous callers, especially those that take full advantage of automated calls that make use of a fake phone number (disguised so that recipients will take the call).

In more ways than one, the system to be reviewed by the FCC would serve as a call authentication layer, and one that could foster further innovation for third party mobile apps, particularly those that let people block annoying phone calls. Moreover, the system could also grant phone companies a business opportunity later, that is if they are looking to introduce a feature or service that lets their customers block spam phone calls.

Earlier this year, the FCC had already been thinking of establishing new regulations that would essentially permit phone companies to block so-called robocalls from unassigned phone numbers, or from numbers that are not real. Robocalls are annoying as hell, with approximately 2.5 billion automated calls being made on a monthly basis. Robocalls also usually rank among the top things people complain about the most. As a matter of fact, the FCC has revealed that it receives over 200,000 complaints per regarding automated calls. The Federal Trade Commission also claimed that in the last year alone, it had received about 5.3 million complaints centering around telemarketing calls.

Things are made more frustrating because eliminating robocalls are easier said than done. The tricky part is mostly in determining which incoming phone calls are legitimate ones or robocalls. And it does not help that some automated calls are actually legit, such as messages from schools, weather updates, public utilities, or political organizations. Consumers may not want these calls blocked, but figuring out which is which is at times mind boggling.

Apart from voting unanimously to come up with the call authentication system, the FCC also voted on how to block unwanted calls after a phone number has been reassigned. As of now, legitimate companies have no way of ascertaining if people who have given their permission to receive promotional calls are still utilizing a specific phone number. The FCC is now looking to gather feedback with regards to how phone companies should report cases wherein a phone number has been reassigned, and how the information can be put to good use.